Any Place in the World
by Uchiha-Griffin
Summary: Team seven is reunited, and all is well... or maybe not so much. Sakura has gone missing, and it's up to the boys to find her. But who knew how badly this would effect Sasuke...? Sasusaku


Sakura smiled wistfully as she shut both locks on her bedroom window, looking out one last time at the view from her mountainside apartment. She could nearly see all of Konoha from that window. It had been her vantage point for years. Her smile phased as she closed the curtains as well. She slung on her backpack and walked to the front door.

She opened it slowly, placing her hand on the door jamb, looking back into her home. She nodded once, as if she needed to convince herself that what she was doing, this decision that had taken her two months to make, was right. Then she walked out and closed the door quietly behind her, escaping into the night.

It was time to say goodbye.

* * *

Any Place in the World

By Uchiha-Griffin

I don't own Naruto.

To read how I do... go to the right corner (all the way over from the bar where the title of this fic is), click "Dark", "3/4", and the big "E"

* * *

Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi all stood on the bridge where the team normally met. Something was definitely out of the ordinary, however. Like usual, Naruto had gotten there first, Sasuke arriving moments later and Kakashi had been an hour and 30 minutes late. The element missing was their favorite medic nin, Sakura. She always arrived about 5-10 minutes after Sasuke got there.

Naruto leaned back on the bridge, sighing. "Where's Sakura? She's usually here by now..." Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, it's weird for her to be late. She's usually very punctual." Kakashi shrugged. "She may have forgotten the mission was today." he suggested. Naruto shook his head, "No way would she forget! We have missions every day already!"

"Maybe we should go look for her at her apartment. She'd be there if she had forgotten." Sasuke pointed out, and the other two men nodded. "Good idea, Sasuke." Kakashi praised, and they began walking in the direction of Sakura's apartment.

Kakashi knocked on the door twice. There was no answer, so he doubtfully tried the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. He turned to Naruto and Sasuke, who looked equally surprised. Sakura always kept her doors and windows locked, except the big window that was in her bedroom. That one was ALWAYS open. When it was closed, something was wrong.

The guys went inside her apartment. "Hey, isn't this like, breaking and entering?" Naruto asked nervously. Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes. "It's not breaking and entering if we didn't break in, idiot." he huffed. Naruto scowled. "Whatever, Sasuke."

Naruto stomped off to look around, so Sasuke stood in the middle of the front room. The room was positively filled with the essence of Sakura. He could stay here for hours, learning so much about her all over again from before he left Konoha. Her house could tell a lot about her. Just as he was about to pick up a picture frame to see what it held, he heard Kakashi curse. "Shit..."

Sasuke immediately dashed into the room where Kakashi was, Naruto coming in behind him. "What's wrong, Sensei?" He asked, tensed for battle. Naruto realized it first. "Why... why is her window closed?" Sasuke then saw it too. The window, that was supposed to be eternally open, had been shut. And locked. And the curtains had been pulled. "We have to go report this to Tsunade." Kakashi said, urgency apparent in his tone.

The two other men of Team Seven nodded, understanding.

* * *

"Fan out." Kakashi instructed. "We're going to find her, no matter what."The team was standing near the gate of Konoha. They had already searched the village and asked around, and had decided to search the forest next.

Tsunade had listened to the story and realized the circumstances. She gave Team 7 as long as it required and full usage of any resources they needed to find their teammate; also her protégé.

"Right!" Both Sasuke and Naruto answered in unison.

* * *

They had been searching for hours.

Naruto turned the corner to see Sasuke standing in the clearing, breathing heavily and scratched up from going through the trees so quickly. "Sasu-" Naruto began, but when Sasuke turned around, he was silenced. Sasuke's Sharingan was spinning wildly, and Sasuke himself looked hellbent on murder. Naruto was about to back away, but Sasuke surprised him by what he said next.

"We have to find her, Naruto." He huffed, trying to catch his breath. Naruto stared at his friend. Sasuke seemed to not even be looking at him. "Whatever we do, Naruto..." Sasuke raised his fist for a knuckle-pound. "... promise me we'll find her." Naruto nodded and pounded with him. "I promise, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded and disappeared into the woods in the next second. Naruto sighed and went a different direction. "I never thought... you would fall in love with her, Sasuke." He muttered to himself.

Back alone in the clearing, Sasuke was drawing a kunai.

He examined the metal surface; he could faintly see his reflection in the gray. He also saw flashes of horror; his parents, dead on the ground of his home. His brother, dead in front of him. Team Hawk, brutally murdered by none other than himself. And now, this girl... HIS girl, was gone.

Sasuke gripped the kunai tighter. "Dammit." He muttered, clenching his teeth. He balled up his

other fist, feeling deep agony and anger welling up deep inside him, threatening to explode. He raised the kunai, his anger reaching its peak. He brought it down with all force.

Blood splattered onto the ground as he yelled out into the forest. "SAKURA!" Furious tears welling up in his eyes.

A little ways away, Naruto heard his cry. He sighed sadly. "Sakura... you're tearing him apart... please be alright." He jumped into a nearby tree, planning to cover more ground via treetop.

Sakura heard his cry as well. It echoed far into the forest, reaching even her outpost. As a flock of sparrows flew into the dark sky, melding with the deep oceanic blue and twinkling stars, a single tear ran down Sakura's pale cheek. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke stumbled through the forest, blood trickling down his leg. He had to find her... he had to... and suddenly, she was there.

She was smiling at him, sadly. Sitting on a tree stump.

When Sasuke saw her sitting there, the tears came back. He scowled. Why did she do this to him? The time they had been apart seemed simply unbearable... Sakura stood up from the stump, smiling kindly. "Sasuke-kun. Don't worry anymore. I'm here." She pulled out her handkerchief and reached to dry his tears.

Sasuke knocked her hand away, and Sakura gasped as he engulfed her in a hug. "I thought you were gone." he whispered. "Just like everyone else." He gripped her tighter, and she realized he was actually crying now. Sakura felt a tear escape her eye. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun! I'm so sorry!" She wrapped her arms around him, gripping his shirt and crying too.

"I'll never leave again, I promise, I promise!" She sobbed, saying anything to make him believe her. He nodded and backed away from her, trying to cover his face, embarrassed by the fact he'd actually cried in front of the girl he liked. "C-come on, Sakura. Let's go back. Naruto and Kakashi are very worried about you." Sakura nodded, and Sasuke began walking away from her.

Sasuke jumped a little when he felt her tug on the back of his shirt. He turned around and saw her, holding onto him and wiping her eyes. "W-why did you come looking for me, Sasuke?" Sasuke felt his face get a little hotter. "W-well. You're my teammate, and I was worried about you... and well, you know, teammates are supposed to look out for each other! So it's not like I could just let you go and not look for you, and you're always so nice to me, and..." Sakura giggled, her breathing uneven from just crying.

"You're rambling, Sasuke-kun." She giggled through her tears. Sasuke blushed even more and reached around his back, taking her hand. "Come on, let's just go already!" Sakura was still giggling as he lead her through the forest, blushing like mad.

Soon, they had almost returned to the forest entrance when Sasuke stopped walking. Sakura didn't realize and ran into his back, gasping. "Oh! Um, sorry, Sasuke-kun! You should have told me you were sto-" "The truth." Sasuke stated, cutting her off. She looked confused. "Huh?" Sasuke let go of her hand and turned around. "Do you want the truth?" He asked, trying not to focus on her. Sakura raised an eyebrow, even more confused. "The truth about wha-"

"Why I came to rescue you! Why I bothered to look even though I was sure you were gone!" Sakura was silent as Sasuke raised his voice at her, then nodded. "Yes..." Sasuke turned away from her, crossing his arms. "Uh, well... how do I put this..." He turned back around to Sakura, whose head was cocked to the side in curiosity.

"Sakura, the truth is, I'd go any place in the world. Anywhere. Anytime. Just to find you. When you're not around, things just don't feel right. Like a part of me is missing... I guess what I'm trying to say is... is that... I love you, Sakura!"

Sakura was silent for a second as she took in the confession he had just made. Just as she was about to respond, Naruto and Kakashi appeared out of the trees. "SAKURA!" Naruto cried out, and ran over, trying to glomp her unsuccessfully. Kakashi looked concerned. "Sakura, we were very worried about you." Sakura broke down in tears, sinking to her knees. "I'm so sorry, everyone... I'm so sorry."

Everyone knelled down beside her, and Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to cry, Sakura. Just tell us why you were going to leave." Naruto nodded. "That's all we want to know." Sakura shook her head and looked up. "It's so embarrassing." Kakashi chuckled. "Sakura, we're your team. You can tell us anything you want."

Sakura sniffed and wiped her eye with the back of her hand. "It's just that... I'm such a burden to all of you. It seems like every mission, all I do is stand around and watch. I get a punch in here or there, but you guys do all the real work. I felt like I wasn't needed anymore. So... I've been planning to leave and train by myself for a year or two."

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura. Did it never occur to you to ask us to help you? You didn't have to go anywhere. We're all right here." Sakura looked surprised. "You would all... do that... for me?" Naruto smiled at her. "Sakura, we all love you. You're like family to us. We couldn't reject to helping you." Sakura smiled and was quiet for a moment. Then she began to laugh.

The magical sound filled the forest, and she began to cry again. But they were happy tears. "I love you guys. I don't know what I'd do without you." This earned a grin from all the men of Team Seven. Kakashi helped Sakura up, and Naruto and Sasuke rose as well.

"Today has been eventful enough. Let's all go back to the village. Dinner is on me." Kakashi announced, and Naruto cheered. Sakura walked slightly behind them, and Sasuke was just a bit ahead of her. She blushed, remembering what he had said to her when they were alone.

"I wonder... if he really meant it." She thought, blushing even darker.

* * *

A FEW DAYS LATER-

Team seven was sitting in a small area hidden deep in Konoha. It was like a local park, with just two swings, four benches, a patch of soft grass, and dozens of Cherry Blossom trees. The Konoha Cheery Blossom Festival was in full swing, so the trees were overflowing with the small, pink flowers. Naruto was running around under the falling petals, laughing with some of the local kids while Kakashi-sensei read Make Out Paradise. Sakura was sitting next to Sasuke. Both hadn't said a word to each other since Sasuke's confession.

Sakura glanced up at the raven-haired Uchiha, unsure of how to break the ice. Sasuke glanced down at her then blushed. "You probably think I'm an idiot, don't you." he stated, looking embarrassed. Sakura was taken aback. "Why in the world would I think that, Sasuke?" He turned to her, blushing.

"Because I loved you so much, but I left anyway! And I cried in front of you. And this..." he lifted up his shorts-leg a little to reveal the bandage where he'd stabbed himself when he was so worried about her. "And. Furthermore. There's the time where I-" Sakura put a finger to his lips. "Sasuke." she stated, and he looked at her. "Just stop talking."

Before Sasuke really knew how to respond, Sakura kissing him. My god! Sakura was kissing him! He sat there, shocked, for only a second before wrapping his arms around her. She pulled back and smiled.

"Do you promise to never leave me again?"

Sasuke grinned.

"I promise. I love you"

She took his hand in her own and held it close to her heart. The sakura blossoms were still raining down gently around them, and the air smelled sweet.

The perfect setting for this new beginning.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review.

Inspirations for this fic::

-Smother Me © The Used

-Give Me a Sign © Breaking Benjamin

-Shadow of the Day © Linkin Park

-Dear God © Avenged Sevenfold

-Hurt © NIN

-A Yoko Fujitani doujinshi I own.


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